Name: Any Way the Wind Blows
Rating: 4.041176470588235 (255 reviews)
ISBN: 9781529039917

Rowell Rainbow

Any Way the Wind Blows

Rainbow Rowell

New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell's epic fantasy, the Simon Snow trilogy, concludes with Any Way the Wind Blows. In Carry On, Simon Snow and his friends realized that everything they thought they understood about the world might be wrong. And in Wayward Son, they wondered whether everything they understood about themselves might be wrong. In Any Way the Wind Blows, Simon and Baz and Penelope and Agatha have to decide how to move forward. For Simon, that means deciding whether he still wants to be part of the World of Mages — and if he doesn't, what does that mean for his relationship with Baz? Meanwhile Baz is bouncing between two family crises and not finding any time to talk to anyone about his newfound vampire knowledge. Penelope would love to help, but she's smuggled an American Normal into London, and now she isn't sure what to do with him. And Agatha? Well, Agatha Wellbelove has had enough. Any Way the Wind Blows takes the gang back to England, back to Watford, and back to their families for their longest and most emotionally wrenching adventure yet. This book is a finale. It tells secrets and answers questions and lays ghosts to rest. Carry On was conceived as a book about Chosen One stories; Any Way the Wind Blows is an ending about endings. About catharsis and closure, and how we choose to move on from the traumas and triumphs that try to define us.

kitkat

Sin lugar a duda mi favorito en la trilogía, cada personaje se ha desarrollado y ha destacado 🥹 he amado a penelope en este libro, como brilla, me encanta ella. Baz y simon son adorables 💗😭 su relación ha tenido una evolución asombrosa de pasar a no caerme del todo bien a mis bbs protegidos! 

Sarah Sammis

** spoiler alert **
           The main relationship is toxic. It also doesn't progress. It's 500+ pages of short choppy sentences and people refusing to or failing to grow as people.

The promised romance of this volume doesn't materialize. There's no romance. There's instead a cringe worthy, toxic relationship similar to Gravitation. The only difference is Simon and Baz are the same age, so there's not that abusive dynamic in play on top of everything else.

The biggest problem is this novel isn't about two former roommates and rivals falling in love and moving on with their relation despite odds. Instead it's a woman exploring her gay sex fetish. There is no characterization, no growth (beyond erections), no time where the two are just a couple together. Instead they either can't stand to be in the room together or they can't take their hands off each other.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...

Julia Moran 

I can't believe I just finished a series that has been by my side for 5 years now... 
I think this book ties everything up really nicely and I'm honestly really happy and proud of all of my children. I truly hope Simon and Baz get to live their happily ever after, god knows they deserve it. I'm kind of at a loss for words at this one... I loved it, honestly.

I loved every second.
It felt like coming home and being greeted by old friends who already set the table with cake and tea.
To this day the Simon Snow Trilogy is my most reread series, and that's saying something coming from a person who usually dislikes reading books twice.

This feels like the perfect ending to all the questions that I asked myself as well as the questions I didn't know I had.

I am not the biggest fan of everyone pairing up in the end and I feel like Agathas feelings for Niamh (or girls in general?) didn't come across clearly, especially since she expresses in Wayward Son, that she doesn't want to kiss Ginger. But maybe it just meant she wasn't into Ginger, and not girls in general.
Nevertheless I adored this book and will gladly ignore some minor inconsistencies since the rest was immaculate.

Janka

Adriana Gómez 

Millie Roberts

bittersweet this series is ending BC the first book is one of my fav books of all time, I defo preferred this too the second as well

fizzy

this book. that’s my review i’m too teary eyed to write anything

taylor alyse pisanie

** spoiler alert **
           It was cute! There wasn’t much of a plot, and really it was just Simon figuring himself out. The action was very quick and felt disappointing (like there was a lot of build up to nothing). 

I also didn’t feel like there was much resolution to anyone’s story except Penelope’s. 

It’s okay though, I’m just glad Simon & Baz worked their stuff out.

ziggy!! 

i wish i could give this more than 5 stars it’s so amazing

Jude Moon

** spoiler alert **
           i've finally finished this trilogy and i'm not okay thank you for asking.

okay so now some thoughts:

1- simon and baz's relationship in this book was DELIGHTFUL to read. the scene in Baz's apartment made me scream, cry, feel all of the emotions and i was so glad it happened. i strongly agree with Rowell's decisions in terms of character building, they definitely needed that second book to arrive to this point of their relationship. all that happened made them much more aware of how they needed to communicate with each other AND THEY DID!! they talked so much in this book and I cherished every bit of conversation they had <3

2- the plot was a bit all over the place? maybe. but i honestly really didn't care. i tend to focus much more in character-driven stories, so many times i don't pay much attention to the plot. so everything that bothered people i can understand but didn't affect me at all sorry...

3- SIMON'S MENTAL HEALTH!!!!! my favourite part of the story by far. i loved seeing his progression as a character throughout the books and especially his internal monologues in this third book. the type of angish and struggles Simon was experiencing felt incredibly real and also were a new kind of twist for the Chosen One trope. what do we do when the greatness we were supposed to achieve vanishes? who are we beyong the expectations people had for us? all of these questions were explored with much care in Simon's character, and I deeply appreciated that. he was abused and manhandled by adults for most of his childhood and adolescence, and Rowell acknowledged that and even explored it further. because his story could've ended in the first book but people's stories usually keep going. so simon kept going even if things weren't pretty. and that's important to see.


   "This is what people do. They get close and try to stay there. They stay. They keep trying to hold on to each other, even though it's not really possible, I don't think. Because people are always moving, aren't they. But this is what they do. They keep trying."

Claudia Ganea

betty

** spoiler alert **
           3.25 ⭐️ 

Me when I infodump about this series in my reviews bc I have a love hate relationship with it and I’ll never shut up abt it 😭

I have many MANY thoughts about this book. How did this make people cry 💀💀 Was it better than wayward son? Plot wise? Yeah. BUT WTF DID THEY DO TO SIMON AND BAZ?? Their relationship was all over the place in this book when I asked for a snowbaz redemption arc this was not what I had in mind 😭 at times it bordered on toxic especially during the more intimate scenes I found myself just feeling really uncomfortable. All I can conclude is Simon is definitely aspec and I kinda love that for him I have no idea whether it was intentional but I kinda liked him exploring his sexuality in this book and the part where he finally got comfortable bc he felt like he was doing it more for baz than himself just kinda made me feel nice bc we rarely get aspec representation in any form of media so I was really happy.

Ok praise over now time for the criticism this book was a HUGE slow burn for me. The plot was just all over the place and it took me about 200 pages to actually get into it. I was so close to dnfing this book multiple times and I even found myself rolling my eyes and speeding up the audiobook whenever it came to Simon and Baz’s perspectives because I simply didn’t care about their plotline. On the other hand Agatha and Niamh and Penelope and Shepard’s subplots were significantly more entertaining. I felt like they should’ve been books of their own because I care much more for these characters and are rooting for their relationships a lot more than Simon and Baz

I particularly think that Agatha and Niamh needed more development as their plot felt the most rushed and skipped over out of all 3 and I didn’t even think they’d get together until basically the end of the book which is disappointing but honestly not surprising seeing as they’re the only sapphic couple in the series. If they’d have got a plot like Simon and Baz got in Carry On I feel like their romance in the end would’ve been a lot more satisfying 

However Penelope and Shepard’s subplot was adorable I love my favourite neurodivergent straight couple and I’d much rather have had their story as a novella of its own and then Agatha and Niamh’s story as it’s own too because this book felt like reading 3 books at once and when they came together it wasn’t even particularly satisfying like Carry On. Not even the plot twist was exciting as I predicted it as soon as Smith’s character was introduced since it was basically the same twist we got in Carry On. Also the ending was SO STUPID I really wanted Simon to explore his family and spend a whole book coming to terms with the fact that he basically killed both of his parents and the fact that he is a mage like I thought he’d at least get his magic back or something but nope that’s not even explained neither is why he doesn’t have magic or why he’s immune or anything I just feel like I have a lot of unanswered questions that this book was supposed to answer but instead just gave the dumbest and most unsatisfying conclusion to.

Overall it wasn’t nearly as bad as Wayward Son but that still doesn’t make it good. Some scenes were borderline uncomfortable and I found myself disliking the protagonists we were supposed to be rooting for. The subplots were cute but the way they tied into the main story just didn’t rly work and the villain just felt recycled and predictable. The ending was dumb and unsatisfactory and I just have too many questions 😭😭 anyway Rainbow Rowell needs to let me steal her characters bc I have an entirely different plot in my brain which makes so much more sense than this one

Also pls give Penny and Shepard their own little spin-off series where they are just cute and neurodivergent together thank you 🙏

sophia n

"That's new. That's extraordinarily stupid."

i refuse to write a review because i already know i am full to bursting with love for this book and i can't even attempt to contain it, so i won't even try.

but i just really want to say .............. the depiction of trauma, ptsd, trust, acceptance of self, UNCERTAINTY of self, queerness, wanting to belong, found family, and finding and fighting for real love is ... unparalleled. i cried multiple times reading this and just outright sobbed when i got to the end. i don't know how to even put into words how seen i feel by this narrative, by simon's story, by every single character in this ragtag chosen family. the first book was so fun and sweet. the second and third? feel like ... actual gifts written to my heart. oh look i'm crying again.

Any Way the Wind Blows

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